RICS response to consultation on the UK Government’s plan for a Modern Industrial Strategy

Last month, the Government set out its intention to deliver growth via new industrial strategy and published a green paper – Invest 2035: The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy.

The proposals unlock a range of opportunities for the built and natural environment, through investment in housing, energy, infrastructure and net zero aims, all the while driving demand for RICS expertise and surveyors.

The Government’s priority is to deliver a pro-businesses environment and ensure that the UK can realise its economic potential. Eight sectors have been identified as priority high growth sectors including advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies, financial services, life sciences, and professional and business services.

Key themes in the Invest 2035 consultation and our response to them are set out below:

• Skills: Skills are rightly at the top of the Government’s identified policy areas. There remains a major shortage of professionals across the built environment. To meet ambitious goals, including the Government’s 1.5 million housing target, there needs to be rapid investment in the future skills pipeline and efforts to upskill the existing workforce.
  • We repeated calls for an England-based Built Environment GCSE and continued investment in T Level courses. RICS also recommends the introduction of a Built Environment Skills Taskforce within Skills England to identify and drive delivery of our housing, climate change, energy and infrastructure needs.

• Construction: Futureproofing construction will be critical to secure the UK’s economic potential and future. RICS has called for greater focus to be placed on backing construction through the industrial strategy. There are huge challenges from decarbonising, to overcoming skills shortages and embracing digital technology adoption. There has been some innovation through PropTech, ConTech and PlanTech but there is a massive opportunity for the construction industry to invest in innovation and benefit from it.

• AI, Data and Tech: This is a broad field with AI and Data science adoption steadily accelerated. RICS is in the process of developing a new professional standard on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence. In terms of data, a challenge for the sector is the decentralisation of information about land, housing and commercial real estate. RICS repeated calls from a large number of organisations in the UK property sector asking for support to ensure the mass adoption of the unique property reference number (UPRN).

• Place: RICS recommends that the Industrial Strategy take a place-based approach with the unique needs of each region into consideration to drive economic development in ways that are both sustainable and inclusive. Creating a pro-business environment should be achieved in partnership with local and regional leaders across our towns, cities and regions.

• Devolution: The new industrial strategy should embrace the principle of complementarity with the devolved economic strategies in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
  • In Northern Ireland, the draft Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland 2050 focusses on decarbonise the economy and society, strengthening public services, enhancing communities and places, building a strong and competitive region, and maximising the benefits of new technologies and innovation.
  • In Scotland, the Infrastructure Investment Plan covers net zero emissions and environmental sustainability, driving inclusive economic growth and building resilient and sustainable places.
  • In Wales, Cardiff is estimated as the fastest growing city outside of London over the coming years, with major growth in manufacturing, health and finance. Energy infrastructure, including the potential for future hydrogen and tidal schemes, can help drive the Welsh renewable energy industry.

• Net Zero: The RICS Sustainability Report 2024 was published this week. It highlighted both a demand for green real estate but also the major challenges in reaching net zero such as the lack of green skills.
  • There have been additional challenges around benchmarking, databases, tools and guidance. RICS has worked with industry partners to develop a range of standards including the International Cost Management Standard 3 (ICMS 3), the Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) 2^nd edition, the International Building Operation Standard (IBOS), and the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard. The Built Environment Carbon Database also allows users to identify where carbon reductions can be made in a building’s lifecycle.

• Business rates: RICS has been making the case for a fairer business rates system for some time. There is an urgent need to reduce the burden of business rates administration, support the valuation and administration of business rates, and improve professionalism in business rates services.
  • We recognise that this is an area already under review following the Autumn Budget 2024 by the Treasury to co-design a better system and note their current discussion paper in this area: Transforming business rates, which is intended to kickstart a conversation between the Government, businesses and key stakeholders to fix the system.

• Planning: It is essential that the challenges across the planning system are overcome so that the homes, buildings and infrastructure we need can be delivered. Building on RICS’s response to the National Planning Policy Framework Consultation 2024, we again called for greater resource for planning recognising that recruiting and retaining planning officers is complex and not only about adequate funding.

For more information or to get involved in RICS’s policy work, contact Senior Public Affairs Officer, Nell Brown at nbrown2@rics.org.